BAL
BALACHANDRA
BALAN
BALDWIN
BALL
BALLARD
BAL o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-06-23 published
BAL,
Mary
Evelyn (née
ROBERTSON)
Wife of the late Kenan Y.
BAL.
Died
June 17, 2003 in her 96th
year at her residence in New York. Born in Stratford, Ontario
to Robert Spelman
ROBERTSON and Laura Gertrude
(SEGSWORTH)
ROBERTSON,
Mary attended Havergal College on Jarvis Street in Toronto. After
graduating from the University of Toronto she obtained her PhD
in Food Chemistry from Columbia University in New York in 1942.
She will be remembered with affection by her nieces and nephews.
Interment at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Tuesday, June
24th at 3 p.m.
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BALACHANDRA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-09-20 published
GLADDY,
Dr.
Percy
Vaughan, B.Sc., M.D., (F.R.C.SC)
On September 16, 2003, in his home on the shores of Lake Huron
with his family, Percy died, at the age of 76, after a life filled
with integrity, hard work, dedication and achievement. He leaves
his dear wife, Alexia, and beloved children, Geoffrey, Sarah
(Jonathan), Jennifer and Rebecca, and cherished grand_sons Alexander
and Daniel. He was predeceased by his parents, Arthur and Nellie,
and brother, Leo. Born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario, Percy was
a graduate of Queen's University (Meds '50), with postgraduate
training in Canada and the U.S. in Obstetrics and Gynecology. A
lifelong student of medicine, Percy practiced medicine for over
45 years in Sarnia where he served his community and positively
touched the lives of many mothers and their families. He was
instrumental in setting up the first Emergency Physicians' Service
at St. Joseph's Hospital which provided 24-hour emergency care
for the residents of Sarnia-Lambton. He also set up the first
mother-baby wellness clinic in Walpole Island to provide pre-
and post-natal care. For service to the First Nation community,
he was given the honorary name Mshkikiiwnini (Indian Doctor).
A skilled physician, he will be remembered for his strong moral
code, humour, warmth, availability and concern for others. In
his career and personal life, Percy was guided by his Christian
faith, especially during the last difficult days of his illness
and he remained true to himself determined, strong and willing
to do the work to survive. He had great love for his family and
was the proud father of four Queen's graduates. His example and
principles will remain to inspire his children and all who knew
him. He received excellent medical care and his family wishes
to express their appreciation to Dr. D.
PAYNE,
Dr.
F.
SHEPHERD,
Dr. G. DARLING, Dr. D.
BROWN and Jennifer
HORNBY, Princess Margaret
Hospital, Toronto, and Dr. V.
BALACHANDRA and Dr. R.
GARRETT,
Sarnia. Percy's family is grateful for the support and care extended
to them by their many relatives, Friends, and especially Helen
PARADIS.
Cremation has taken place with arrangements entrusted
to McKenzie and Blundy Funeral Home and Cremation Centre (519-344-3131).
A memorial service to celebrate Percy's life will be held at
11: 00 a.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2003, at Grace United Church,
990 Cathcart Blvd., Sarnia. In lieu of flowers, Percy's family
kindly requests that expressions of sympathy be directed to the
Lambton Education Foundation (Dr. P.V. Gladdy Scholarship), 200
Wellington Street, P.O. Box 2019, Sarnia, Ontario N7T 7L2 or to
the Lambton Hospitals Foundation (Building Fund
Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology), 89 Norman Street, Sarnia, Ontario
N7T 6S3. Messages of condolence and memories may be left at www.mckenzieblundy.com
A tree will be planted in memory of Percy
GLADDY in the McKenzie
& Blundy Memorial Forest. Dedication service Sunday, September
19th, 2004 at 2: 00 p.m. at the Wawanosh Wetlands Conservation
Area.
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BALAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-03-21 published
MOSS,
Earle
Roderick
Internationally acclaimed pianist and teacher, bon vivant, gourmet
cook, world traveler died at Grey Bruce Health Services, Owen
Sound on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 after a long, painful but
dignified struggle with age-related disabilities. He was 82 years
of age. Dearly beloved brother of Eric (Bonnie) of Perth, Ontario
and Sylvia (Frances) of Owen Sound, Ontario. Predeceased by brother
Cyril
Lloyd, mother Marian Agnes
KENNARD, father Cyril Albert
and step-mother Frances Astley
McDOUGAL.
Sadly missed by niece
Catherine MOSS and great-niece Jesse
MOSS-
BALAN, nieces Joy (Raul)
POBRE-MOSS, Ruayan and Gay
POBRE-
MOSS, nephew David
MOSS-
CORNETT
and by many Friends and students. Baptized in the Anglican Church
of St. Barnabas (Chester) in Toronto, the city of his birth,
Earle in later years converted to Roman Catholicism, taking the
name Thomas, after Saint Thomas, the doubting Disciple of Christ.
Funeral Massachusetts will be celebrated at Saint Mary's Catholic
Church in Owen Sound on Saturday, March 22, 2003 at 11 o'clock
with celebrant Father Paul
WALSH. At a date to be announced later,
a Memorial Mass will be held at Regis College, 15 Saint Mary Street,
Toronto. Donations in memory of Earle to Regis College, Toronto,
Saint Mary's Church, Owen Sound or Saint Thomas Anglican Church,
Owen Sound or the charity of your choice would be appreciated
and may be made through the Tannahill Funeral Home (519-376-3710)
1178 4th Ave. West, Owen Sound N4K 4W5. Messages of condolence
are welcome at www.tannahill.com
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BALDWIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-02-04 published
First World War veteran dies in Toronto at age 105
By Gloria GALLOWAY
Tuesday,
February 4, 2003, Page A4
The sparse ranks of Canada's living First World War veterans
have been further diminished by the death of Iden Herbert
BALDWIN,
who emerged from the conflict with a medal for his heroic capture
of a German machine-gun post.
Mr. BALDWIN died Friday in Toronto at the age of 105.
When interviewed by a reporter just before Remembrance Day last
year as part of The Globe and Mail's tribute to Canada's oldest
veterans, he recalled the day an enemy shell blew him into the
air.
The blast threw him into the newly formed crater, and a mound
of earth buried him alive. Fortunately, his helmet had fallen
over his nose, creating a small air pocket that kept him conscious
until "some fellow's fingers moved some dirt away from my mouth
and I was able to breathe."
His death reduces to 12 the number of living First World War
veterans located by The Globe. When stories about their lives
ran in mid-November, there were 16.
Until the end, the war remained a major event in his life, Michael
BARRACK, his step-grand_son, said after the funeral yesterday.
"It would bring back vivid, vivid memories, you could tell, right
until the day he died."
In recent days, fatigue often confined Mr.
BALDWIN to a hospital
bed set up in the dining room of the midtown home he shared with
his second wife, Anna, but he remained lucid and full of humour.
"On his 105th birthday last November, I said to him 'You look
great today, Uncle Herb,' Mr.
BARRACK said. "And he looked
at me and said: 'I look great every day.' "
In 1999, France honoured Mr.
BALDWIN and 110 other survivors
as Knights of the Order of the Legion of Honour, "and he was
counting heads then," Mr.
BARRACK said.
Mr. BALDWIN was born in Kent, in southern England, in November
of 1897 and emigrated to Canada in 1911. He settled in Prince
Albert, Saskatchewan, where he found work as a plumber's helper.
At 17, he enlisted in the army and was quickly sent to France.
He asked to be sent to the front lines in place of a friend who
was a family man. He saw action in several battles, including
the infamous Vimy Ridge, where he was injured.
When the war ended in 1918, he served another two years, in Germany,
then returned to Prince Albert to be a plumber.
Mr. BALDWIN moved to Toronto in 1922, and got a job distributing
essential oils. He remained single until 1954, when he was 57.
After the death of his first wife, Elaine, he married Anna, a
family friend.
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BALDWIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-02-13 published
YOUNG,
Ira
Of West Vancouver, British Columbia and Malibu Beach, California
died January 29th 2003 at his home in Malibu with family at his
side.
Ira spent his life in pursuit of many passions. He was deeply
loved and will be greatly missed by the many people he touched.
Born in 1926 in Edmonton, Alberta, Ira earned his B.Sc. at the
University of Alberta and
an M.A. in Clinical Psychology. He
was an instructor in Psychology at Hobart and William Smith in
Geneva, New York before starting a career in real estate. Ira
founded the Western Realty Management group of companies in Edmonton
in 1953 and embarked on a journey to create some of the most
notable and ground breaking land development projects in Canada.
He earned a reputation as one of Canada's leading private developers
and builders. His vision evolved from suburban subdivision projects
to apartments, office buildings, industrial building projects
and shopping centers, spanning from western to eastern Canada,
Los Angeles and Hawaii. Most notable was his award winning Coquitlam
Center outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. 1980 Merit Award
winner of the International Council of Shopping Centers and Governor
General's Award for Architecture, the first two-level center
in western Canada, this project was recognized for innovations
in energy efficiency and the dedicated spaces and design elements
furnished by local artists. It also became the catalyst for the
massive development of the immediate area and realized the Town
Center scheme originally proposed to the local district by Ira
YOUNG's company.
It was at this time that his love and support for the arts began
to eclipse his prominence in the real estate business. Starting
as an avid collector of Eskimo art, Ira and his wife Lori developed
a collection of art including major works of legendary American
Artists; the likes of Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg,
Roy Lichtenstein and perhaps the most important collection of
Cy Twombly in North America. All the while they actively supported
and befriended many emerging Canadian and American artists, displaying
their works alongside the rest of their collection. Their collections
have been shown in Vancouver, London, Montreal, Los Angeles and
Halifax with over 90 pieces donated to the Vancouver Art Gallery.
A member of The Vancouver Art Gallery's Board of Trustees since
1996, he was also active on the Gallery's Program, Acquisitions
and Master Planning Committees, always arguing for world class
standards through international and local perspectives.
In the 1980's Ira and Lori's interest in automotive racing led
to the acquisition of Malibu Grand Prix in Canoga Park, California.
A family entertainment company featuring 35 amusement parks across
the United States showcasing ¾ scale Indy Type race cars, Ira
threw his heart and soul into the venture eventually expanding
into Canada, France, Portugal and Japan. True to form, he went
all out and created a race team to compete in the International
Motor
Sports
Association
GTU class of racing in North America.
Surprising to many, but not to him, his team won their first
race out, their first season out, and earned Mazda the Manufacturers
title. Ira backed this venture in more ways than one. He drove
in both the Daytona 24 hour and Sebring 12 hour endurance races.
Also true to form, he recognized promise and gave opportunities
to then unknown drivers like Jack
BALDWIN,
Tommy
KENDALL and
crew chief Clayton
CUNNINGHAM.
His commitment to racing was rewarded
with a team with four consecutive years as International Motor
Sports Association
GTU
Champion and a car that now sits in an
automotive museum as the most winning automobile in auto racing
history.
Ira YOUNG, a real estate developer with a vision, an outspoken
advocate of the arts, and a race car driver at heart, will be
forever missed by wife
Lori
YOUNG, son Jason
YOUNG of New York,
son Clinton
YOUNG and daughter-in-law Randi, daughters Jennifer
and Susan YOUNG of Toronto, step-son Christopher
WENSLEY and
daughter-in-law Tatiana of West Vancouver, step-daughter Blair
and son-in-law Paul
DONALD of Edmonton and step-son Adam
WENSLEY
and daughter-in-law Laura of Upland, California and grand children
Samantha, Jamie, Axel, Morgan, Miya, Dylan and Alejandro.
A celebration of his life with family and Friends will be held
at the Capilano Golf and Country Club on Saturday, March 1st,
2003, 420 Southborough Drive, West Vancouver, British Columbia
at 2: 00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made 'In memory of Ira
YOUNG'
to the Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, British
Columbia V6Z 2H7 or to a charity of your choice.
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BALDWIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-11-06 published
BEES,
Pauline
of North York, Ontario. Died November 3rd, in her 79th year.
Pauline was possessed with a joy for living and a wonderful sense
of humour. She courageously maintained this trait into her late-life
struggle and subsequent death from cancer.
She has imparted her sense of optimism onto her surviving family,
son George, daughter-in-law Chris, and grand_son Jaycen of Framingham,
Massachusetts.; daughter Barbara, son-in-law Graham
BALDWIN,
and granddaughter Katie of Toronto; son Paul and grandchildren
Anna and Jack of St. Paul, Minnesota.; and son mark of Boston,
Massachusetts.
Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Pauline moved to Canada with
her husband Bob in 1958, making homes in Woodstock and Willowdale,
Ontario. Pauline considered herself to be a true Canadian, relocating
permanently from Cape Coral, Florida to Willowdale after her
husband's untimely death in 1986.
Pauline found Toronto to be the perfect place to be close to
her daughter Barbara and family. Its proximity to Woodstock gave
her access to her old and dear Friends with whom she shared many
fond and happy memories.
A natural caregiver, Pauline gave back to her community through
her volunteer work at North York General Hospital. Pauline lived
her life through, and for her children. She derived her most
pleasurable moments in time spent with immediate family and Friends.
We will remember Pauline at her finest, with her kindness, wit,
and unique perspective on the world around us, but most of all
her ability to laugh and makeus laugh every day at life's little
ironies and precious moments.
If desired in lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be
made in her honour to either Bridgepoint Palliative Care or North
York General Hospital Volunteer Association.
A celebration of her life will take place on Friday, November
7th at 1: 00 pm at the R.S. Kane Funeral Home (6150 Yonge Street,
North York).
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BALL o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-05-31 published
Robert Marven
SYER
Born February 19, 1912 at Thamesville, Ontario, died May 15,
2003 at Oakville, Ontario, late of Oakville (Bronte) and lastly
of Burlington Ontario; predeceased by parents Frank Morgan
SYER
(1923) and
Maud
Lillian
SYER (née) (1969,) and by brother Ralph
Evans SYER (1932;) survived by his wife of 63 years, Frances
Teresa SYER (née,) and seven children: Robert Marven (Marg
HEEMSKERK)
of Toronto, David Dirk (Mimi
CHAMPAGNE) of Shelburne Nova Scotia,
Susan
Frances
(Brian
RIKLEY) of Hudson Québec, Michael Stanley
of Oakville, Timothy William (Marilyn
MacGREGOR) of Milton Ontario,
Deborah
Anne
(Barry
BALL) of Brampton Ontario and Dani Elizabeth
(Brian FINNEY) of Orlando Florida; and by fifteen grandchildren:
Sheri Lynne
SYER
(Michael
PINNOCK) of San Jose California, Wendy
Frances SYER
(Kevin
OUGH) of Peterborough Ontario and Julia Helen
SYER
(Pat
PELLEGRINI) of Ajax Ontario; David Dirk
SYER (Doris
HOO) of Whitby Ontario and Judith Gail
SUSLA
(Joe
SUSLA) of Oakville
Brian Joseph Rikley (Eva
GJERSTAD) and Toni Lauren
RIKLEY (Dave
KRINDLE) of Hudson; Cassidy Anne
SYER
(Danny
PIETRONIRO) of Montréal,
Michael Timothy
SYER of Victoria, British Columbia and Robert
Christopher
SYER of London Ontario; Thomas William
SYER and Douglas
Donald SYER of Milton; and Hayley Elizabeth
FINNEY,
Brian
James
FINNEY and Kyle James
FINNEY of Orlando; and by nine great-grandchildren:
Skylar Syer
OUGH of Peterborough and Julian Robert Domenico
PELLEGRINI
of Ajax; Robert Marven
SYER,
James
Michael
SYER and David Dirk
SYER of Whitby and Erin Nicole
SUSLA of Oakville; and Austin
Tyler RIKLEY-
KRINDLE, David Shane
RIKLEY-
KRINDLE and Joseph Cody
RIKLEY-
KRINDLE of Hudson; also, by nephew Richard Frank
SYER
of Lake Placid Florida, grand-nephew Michael Charles
SYER of
Ann
Arbor
Michigan and by brother-in-law Dr. Patrick Gaynor
LYNES
of Brampton and his family. An Anglican graveside service was
held at St. Jude's Cemetery in Oakville on May 22, 2003. Expressions
of respect may be sent to the family at 2455 Milltower Court
Mississauga, Ontario L5N 5Z6 or by eMail to
RMS@The
RMSGroup.net
gifts may be made to a charity of choice. A child is sleeping:
An old man gone. James Joyce
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BALL o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-11-18 published
Black pride of Canadian track and field
First Canadian-born black athlete to win an Olympic medal was
member of relay team at 1932 Los Angeles Games but could find
work only as a railway porter
By James CHRISTIE,
Tuesday,
November 18, 2003 - Page R9
Ray LEWIS's event in Olympic track and field was officially the
400-metre sprint, a flat race. His enduring place in Canadian
sport history, however, was earned for hurdling a barrier.
Mr. LEWIS, who died in his native Hamilton at age 94 on the weekend,
was the first Canadian born black athlete to stand upon the Olympic
medals podium. He won a bronze medal as a member of the Canadian
4 x 400-metre relay at the Los Angeles Games in 1932.
At a time where racial discrimination was the way of the world,
Mr. LEWIS didn't get to live a hero's life. Viewed today as a
pathfinder for talented black athletes, in the 1930s Mr.
LEWIS
had to all but quit his athletics training because of the demands
of his job as a railway porter with the Canadian Pacific Railways.
He spent 22 years on the trains making 250 trips from Toronto
to Vancouver. To try and stay fit, Mr.
LEWIS would train by running
alongside the rails when the train stopped on the prairies.
"He deserved so much more than he ever received," said Donovan
BAILEY, who won two gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
in the 100 metres and 4 x 100-metre relay. "I benefited from
his going before.
"I had the honour and good fortune of having lunch with Ray
LEWIS
and talking with him. I couldn't imagine what it was like in
his day. It was so different. Ultimately, he's one who inspired
me."
Raymond Gray
LEWIS was a Hamiltonian, cradle to grave. James
WORRALL, honorary member of the International Olympic Committee
and Canada's Olympic flag bearer in 1936, recalled the family
roots in the area went back to the 1840s when his great grandparents
escaped slavery in the United States and settled near Otterville,
Ontario
The youngest child of Cornelius
LEWIS and Emma
GREEN, Ray
LEWIS
was born October 8, 1910, at 30 Clyde St. He began running races
for fun at age 9 when he entered as contest at a local picnic.
He began formal training in track and field at Central Collegiate
where the autocratic John Richard (Cap)
CORNELIUS was his coach.
In 1929, he established a Canadian high-school track-and-field
record of four championships in one day, taking the dashes at
100, 200, and 440 yards as they were measured then, and anchoring
the one-mile relay. In 1928 and 1929, Mr.
LEWIS was part of the
Central relay team that won the United States national schoolboy
title.
He briefly attended Marquette University in Milwaukee but returned
to Canada during the Depression and joined the Canadian Pacific
Railway.
Besides his Olympic medal performance with teammates Phil
EDWARDS,
Alex WILSON and Jimmy
BALL,
Mr.
LEWIS was also a Canadian champion
several times and competed in the inaugural British Empire Games
in 1930 in Hamilton and the 1934 Empire Games in London. where
he won a silver medal in the mile relay. Mr.
EDWARDS was actually
the first black athlete to win an Olympic medal for Canada in
1932, getting the 800-metre honour about a half-hour before the
relay with Mr.
LEWIS.
Mr.
EDWARDS, however, was native of British
Guyana, while Ray
LEWIS was a local.
Mr. LEWIS, who in 2001 was awarded the Order of Canada, had a
life-long attachment to the Empire Games, later renamed the Commonwealth
Games. He was an adviser to the bidders who recently sought the
2010 Games for Hamilton and vowed that if the Games were coming
back, he'd be there to greet them at the official opening at
age 100. The Hamilton bid lost out last week to one from New
Delhi, India. He lit the torch during the opening ceremonies
at the International Children's Games in Hamilton July 1, 2000.
Mr. LEWIS wrote an autobiography entitled Shadow Running in which
he detailed his life "as porter and Olympian." He was featured
in a 2002 TVOntario documentary series on racism, Journey to
Justice. "It [racism] felt worse here, because it wasn't supposed
to happen here," he recalled in the video.
Whereas white athletes had an opportunity for coaching jobs after
their careers, Mr.
LEWIS did not. His position as a porter was
one of the few jobs open to men of his race.
"The first time I met him, the Canadian team was on its way to
Fort William, Ontario, for the Canadian championships in 1933.
They travelled by Pullman and Ray was the porter. He couldn't
get the time off to compete. But he did make the 1934 Empire
Games team and was presented to the Prince of Wales, something
that was a point of honour for him. He felt it was something
to rub into all those people who had kept him off teams and out
of places because he was black," Mr.
WORRALL said.
Mr. LEWIS married Vivienne
JONES in 1941, and they adopted two
children, sons Larry and Tony.
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BALLARD o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-06-23 published
Hockey coach who changed the game
'Captain Video' introduced new teaching tools in more than 25
years with the National Hockey League
By William
HOUSTON
Monday,
June 23, 2003 - Page R5
The morning after Roger
NEILSON was fired from his first of seven
head coaching jobs in the National Hockey League, he returned
to his office at Maple Leaf Gardens.
He viewed and edited the videotape of the Toronto Maple Leafs'
loss to the Montreal Canadiens the night before. When a replacement
didn't show up, he put the Leafs through a practice. Later, he
was asked by a reporter why he was still hanging around.
"Somebody had to run the practice," he said. "Whoever comes in
will have to look at the tapes."
The next day, Mr.
NEILSON was reinstated when the club could
not find a replacement, but Maple Leafs owner Harold
BALLARD,
always looking for publicity, wanted to make his return behind
the bench a surprise. Mr.
BALLARD tried to talk him into wearing
a ski mask or bag over his head, and then dramatically throwing
it off at the start of the game. Numbed by the three-day ordeal
of not knowing his status in the organization, Mr.
NEILSON almost
agreed, but ultimately declined.
"He hated that story," said Jim
GREGORY, who hired Mr.
NEILSON
to coach the Leafs in 1977 and was fired along with the coach
at the end of the 1978-79 season. "I hated that story."
The incident reflected poorly on Mr.
BALLARD, but in a smaller
way it helped create the image of Mr.
NEILSON we have today,
that of a coach who put the team ahead of his ego, who was loyal
to his players and dedicated to his job.
Mr. NEILSON, who died Saturday after a long battle with cancer,
will be remembered not just as a man who loved hockey, but also
as a skilled strategist and innovator. He stressed defensive
play and systems, and also physical fitness. In Toronto, he was
given the nickname "Captain Video," because he was among the
first to use videotape to instruct his players and prepare for
games.
When Mr. NEILSON, a soft-spoken man famous for his dry sense
of humour, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year,
he was asked about the late, controversial Leafs owner.
"I'm sure he's looking up rather than down," he said, with a
smile, before saying Mr.
BALLARD did some "good things for hockey."
Mr. NEILSON was also named to the Order of Canada in January.
Roger Paul
NEILSON was born in Toronto on June 16, 1934, and
went as far as Junior B hockey as a player. While earning a degree
at McMaster University in Hamilton, he started coaching kids
baseball and hockey.
After graduating, he taught high school in Toronto and his passion
by then was coaching. In hockey, he won Toronto and provincial
titles at different levels. In 10 years, his Metro Toronto midget
baseball teams won nine championships, once defeating a team
that included pitcher Ken
DRYDEN, who would later become a Hall
of Fame goaltender with the Montreal Canadiens.
Mr. NEILSON scouted for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario
Major Junior Hockey League before moving to Peterborough in 1966
to coach the team. During his 10 years behind the bench, the
Petes never finished below third place and won the league championship
once.
By the time Mr.
NEILSON moved to the National Hockey League to
coach the Leafs in 1977, his reputation for creativity and also
mischief was firmly established. In baseball, he used, at least
once, a routine involving a peeled apple, in which the catcher
threw what appeared to be the ball wildly over the third baseman,
prompting the runner to race home. As the apple lay in the outfield,
the catcher met the runner at home plate with the real baseball
in his glove.
Always looking for a loophole in the rules, Mr.
NEILSON's ploys
instigated rule changes in hockey. On penalty shots against his
team, he used Ron
STACKHOUSE, a big defenceman, instead of a
goalie. Mr.
STACKHOUSE would charge out of the net and cause
the shooter to flub his shot. The rule was subsequently changed
to require the goalie to stay in his crease.
Over an National Hockey League career that lasted more than 25
years, Mr.
NEILSON holds the record for most teams coached (seven.)
He also held four assistant coaching positions. But he never
won the Stanley Cup. He didn't coach great teams. He seemed to
enjoy the challenge of taking an average group of players, making
them into a solid, defensive unit, and seeing them succeed.
In his first year with the Leafs, he moulded a previously undisciplined
group of players into a strong unit that upset the New York Islanders
in the 1978 playoffs.
In 1982, Mr.
NEILSON's playoff success with the Vancouver Canucks
underscored his skill as a tactician and manipulator.
When
Canuck head coach Harry
NEALE was suspended late in the
season, Mr.
NEILSON, his assistant, took over. The Canucks weren't
expected to advance past the first round of the playoffs. But
backed by strong goaltending from Richard
BRODEUR, they defeated
the Calgary Flames and then the Los Angeles Kings to advance
to the semi-finals against Chicago.
The Canucks won the first game, but with Chicago leading 4-1
late in the second game, Mr.
NEILSON, unhappy with the officiating,
waved a white towel from the bench, as if to surrender to the
referee. He was fined for the demonstration, but the white towel
became a symbol of home-fan solidarity. In the Stanley Cup final,
the Canucks were swept by the powerhouse Islanders.
In addition to Toronto and Vancouver, Mr.
NEILSON's journey through
the National Hockey League consisted of head coaching jobs with
the Buffalo Sabres, the Kings, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers
and Philadelphia Flyers. He worked as a co-coach in Chicago,
and as an assistant coach with the Sabres, St. Louis Blues and
Ottawa Senators.
Ottawa, where he was hired in 2000, was his final destination.
In the 2001-02 season, head coach Jacques
MARTIN stepped down
for the final two games of the regular season to allow Mr.
NEILSON
to coach his 1,000th regular-season game.
Frank ORR, who covered hockey for The Toronto Star for more than
30 years, said, in 2002, "Roger is one of the few people I've
met in any line of work who never had a bad word to say about
anybody."
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